The public distribution system which provides food at low prices is a subject of vital concern there is a growing realization that though Pakistan has enough food to feed its masses three square meals a day the monster of starvation and food insecurity continues to haunt the poor in our country.Increasing the purchasing power of the poor through providing productive employment leading to rising income and thus good standard of living is the ultimate objective of public policy however till then there is a need to provide assured supply of food through a restructured more efficient and decentralized public distribution system (PDS).Although the PDS is extensive it is one of the largest such system in the world it has yet to reach the rural poor and the far off places it remains an urban phenomenon with the majority of the rural poor still out of its reach due to lack of economic and physical access the poorest in the cities and the migrants are left out for they generally do not possess rations cards.The allocation of PDS urgently needs to be streamlined in addition considering the large food grams dismal poverty of the rural population on the other there is a strong case for making PDS target group oriented.The growing salaried class is provided job security regular income and percent insulation against inflation these gains of development have not percolated down to the vast majority of our working population if one compares only dearness allowance to the employees in public and private sector and looks at its growth in the past few years the rising food subsidy is insignificant to the point of inequity the food subsidy is a kind D.A to the poor the self employed and those in the unorganized sector of the economy However what is most unfortunate is that out of the large budget of the so-called food subsidy the major part of it is administrative cost and wastage's a small portion of the above budget goes to the real consumer and an even lesser portion to the poor who are in real need.It is true that subsidies should not become a permanent feature except for the destitute disabled widows and the told It is also true that subsidies often create a psychology of dependence and hence is habit-forming killing the general initiative of the people by making PDS target group oriented not only the poorest and neediest would be reached without additional cost but it will actually cut overall costs incurred on large cities and for better off localities when the food and food subsidy are limited the rural and urban poor should have the priority in the PDS supplies The PDS should be closely linked with programs of employment generation and nutrition improvement.d. The poor people of the developing world can lead a happy and contented life if
Recent advance in science and technology have made it possible for geneticists to find out abnormalities in the unborn foetus and take remedial action to rectify some defects which would otherwise prove to be fatal to the child Though genetic engineering is still at its infancy scientists can now predict with greater accuracy a genetic disorder it is not yet an exact science since they are not in a position to predict when exactly a genetic disorder will set in While they have not yet been able to change the genetic order of the germs they are optimistic and are holding out that in the near future they might be successful in achieving this feat They have however acquired the ability in manipulating tissue cells. However genetic mis-information can sometimes be damaging for it may adversely affect people psychologically Genetic information can therefore be abused and its application in deciding the sex of the foetus and its subsequent abortion is now hotly debated on ethical lines but on this issue geneticists cannot be squarely blamed though this charge has often been leveled at them it is mainly a societal problem At present genetic engineering is a costly process of detecting disorder but scientists hope to reduce the costs when technology becomes more advanced.This is why much progress in this area has been possible in scientifically advanced and rich countries like the U.S.A, U.K and Japan.It remains to be seen if in the future this science will lead to the development of a race of supermen or will be able to obliterate disease from this world.l. Which of the following according to the author could be the short-comings of genetics in becoming an exact science?
